OWI Inc L.A. Rocker Speaker: Boulder Rock Subwoofer

Expert Review

Let’s be honest, right off the bat: the Rock Sub by Owi Inc is absurdly expensive, particularly considering that it’s meant to be used outdoors. Most audiophiles reserve their big-dollar systems for indoors, which might be a smart idea. That said, the Rock Sub does put out quite a bit of bass, and sounds pretty darn good; whether it’s worth over a grand is up to you, and I will say it’s not nearly on par with traditional speakers in the price range, but then it is both a heavily specialized product and a full-range speaker-subwoofer combination. The bass does dig very deep, hitting hard and tight down to about 50hz before running out of steam, and bottoming out completely right around 30hz. This is a fairly impressive feat, considering the outdoor woofer from Polk, a home theater enthusiast staple, gives up at around 40hz, but then it’s also a dedicated woofer at about a quarter of the price. The full-range response of the Rock sub is respectable, comparing in detail to mid-fi home theater systems, though not offering quite the same sense of dimensionality, which should be a given considering that the reflections afforded to indoor systems, as well as the more sophisticated placement involved in a 5.1 or 7.2 system. The response can be a bit peaky, sounding slightly exaggerated in the highs, and a touch boomy in the midbass region (150-250 hz), but overall the sound is undeniably high quality, and while perhaps not earning the ridiculous tag on its own, when weather-proofing, design, and convenience are taken into account, two to four Rock Subs make a solid solution for a hassle-free, durable outdoor system.Rating: 4.5/5